Repeating-clock



Patented lan. 3|, |899.

J. J. FIFIELD.

BEPEATING CLOCK. (Appucman' med un. 2s, 1898.)

2 Sheefs-$heet l.

(N0 Model.)

TH: Ncnms PETERS cn. PHoTwLITNo., wAsmNnTcN. n c.

Patented lan. 3l, |899.

J. J. FIFIELD.

REPEATING CLOCK.

(Application filed hn. 28, 159B.)

2 Sheath-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. FIFIELD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

REPEATING-CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,406, dated January 31, 1,899.

Application tiled January Z8, 1898. Serial N0. 668,325. (No model.)

T0 (all whom t may concert/2,:

Beitknown that I, JAMES J. FIFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of SuiTolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Automatic Striking Mechanism for Repeating-Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

The object, of my invention is to simplify and improvel the construction of that class of clocks which automatically repeat the hou r immediately after or before striking the halfhour or any other predetermined divisional part of an hour which the clock may be designed to strike, so that a person hearing the said divisional part of the hour struck may at once know the correct time without seeing the dial.

To this end my invention consists in the combination, with the mechanism which is tripped by the rotation of the arbor, of the minute-hand for striking divisions of an.

hour, of a count-Wheel forming a portion of the striking-train and having its circumference enlarged to contain the required number oi' notches necessary to produce a repetition of the striking of the hour as often as the half-hour or other divisional striking mechanism is brought into action, the strikingtrain being correspondingly enlarged and properly timed to produce the desired results.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a rear elevation of a clock-movement having my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a View of the count-wheel,

In the drawings, A represents the framework of a clock-movement.

B is the going-train, and C the strikingtrain, which is provided with a count-wheel D of double the usualcircumference and having two adjoining sets of notches for each hour7 each two sets for each particular hour being separated from the next two sets by the usual deep notch ZJ, into which the countingarm c drops in the manner common to all striking-clocks to permit the hooked endet the stop-lever d to catch over a pin on the Wheel .l2 to arrest the movement of the strikingtrain after the hammer E has struck the required number of blows on the spiral-wire gong or bell Gf.

II is a second bell, preferably of a tone different i'rom that of the hour bell or gong G and adapted to be struck by a separate hammer I to sound the half-hours. The tail of this hammer, which is fulcrumed on a stud or pivot e, lies in the path ot' an adjustable wiper-arm 7L, secured to the arbor l5 of the minute-hand, by which the hammer is raised and released to give the blow on the bell II.

The minute-hand arbor 15 has secured to it j ust inside of the framework a disk 7o, which is provided with the usual pin or projection 20, acting on the lever m to liberate or set in action the striking mechanism on the hour, said disk being also provided with an extra pin n, which is located just opposite to the pin 20, and also in turn acts on the lever m to again set in action the striking-train G to repeat the hour just after the striking of the halt-hour on the bell II, thus at once indicating to what hour it belongs and enabling a person to know the time Without seeing the dial, which will often be found a great convenience, especially at night. It will be obvious that by properly adjusting the wiperarm 7L on the minute-hand arbor the halfhour may be struck just before instead of immediately after the repetition of the striking of the hour.

It the clock is to be constructed to strike quarter-hours, the disk 7.o on the minute-hand arbor would be provided With three extra pins or projections n instead of one, as above described, (four in all,) located at uniform distances from each other, and the notches in the count-Wheel would then be arranged for repeating the hour every fifteen minutes immediately after or before the striking of the quarters of the hour on the bell H, and in like manner for every division of an hour which the clock is designed to strike. Bells of dierent tones are preferably employed to indicate the different divisions of an hour, the Wiper-arm of the minute-hand arbor being adjusted to cause the hammer I to be released at the exact moment required, which will lbe immediately followed or preceded by the setting in action of the hour-striking train by the particular pin of the disk 7l; provided for the purpose.

Instead of employing a second hammer and a second bell Yfor striking the divisions of an IOO hour it will be obvious that the tail of the hammer E may be arranged to be raised and released by the wiper-arm h, in which case both the hours and the divisions of the same would be struck on the same bell; but l pre- 'fer to use a separate hammer and bell for two reasons: First, a different-toned bell can be employed for striking the divisions of an hour, and, second, it enables the divisions of an hour to be struck before repeating the hour, whereby sufficient time is afforded for the hammer to be raised for t-he blow to be struck for the divisions of an hour Without interfering with the repetition of the previous hour.

lVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is-

l. An hour-repeating clock comprising a time mechanism, a bell and hammer for striking the divisional parts of an hour, an arm on the min nte-hand arbor for operating said bell-hammer, an hour-striking mechanism having a count-Wheel notched for hours only and having its notches arranged in successive series of equal number and each equal series separated by a deep notch, to receive the hooked end of the usual counting-arm of the hour-striking mechanism, and a plurality of pins carried by a disk or arm on the minutehand arbor to respectively trip the countingarm on the hour and then trip it again to repeat the hour contiguous to the sounding of the divisional parts ofthe hour, substantially as set forth.

2. An hour-repeating clock comprising a time mechanism, a bell and hammer for striking the divisional parts of an hour, a Wiper or tappet arm on the minute-hand arbor to directly engage the tail ol the bell-hammer and cause it to strike divisional parts of an hour, an hour-striking mechanism having a count-wheel provided with hou r-notches only and having said notches arranged in successive series of equal number and each equal series separated by a deep notch to receive the hooked end of the usual counting-arm of the hour-strikin g mechanism, a disk secured on the minute-hand arbor and provided with the usual pin for releasing the counting-arm on the hour and also having an auxiliary piu to again release the counting-arm to cause the repeating` of that hourcontiguous to the striking of the divisional part or parts of an hour, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a time mechanism and a striking mechanism for the divisional parts of the hour actuated from the minutehand arbor, of an hour-striking mechanism provided with a count-Wheel having hournotches only, said notches for every hour being repeated in equal number and separated by a deep notch, a counting-arm forming part of the hour-striking mechanism and having its hooked end engaging the count-wheel, and a disk on the minutehand arbor provided with a pin to release the counting-arm on thc hour and with an auxiliary pin to again release it to repeat the hour contiguous to the striking of the divisional parts of the same hour, substantially as described.

lVitness my hand this 20th day ol January, A. D. 1898.

JAMES J. FIFIELD. ln presence of- P. E. TESCHEMACHER, LOUISE A. CHAon. 

